Alfa Romeo has been involved in car racing for over 100 years, and its rich sporting history is evident through the appearances of its production vehicles.

Currently, there are two models sold as new – the Giulietta and the MiTo. The Alfa Romeo 4C is set to be available by late 2014.

Giulietta
The Giulietta is a medium-sized family vehicle which has a distinctive exterior experience. It is produced as a 5-door hatchback and has been on the market since 2010, when it replaced the Alfa 147, although the Giulietta name was first used for a vehicle which was sold between 1954 and 1965.

The model received a 5 star safety rating from Euro NCAP and comes as standard with a host of modern technologies inside. There is plenty of space on offer for front seat passengers, however it can be quite cramped in the rear of the car. In terms of performance, an excellent range of petrol and diesel engines are available to choose between, the most frugal of which delivers an impressive combined MPG of 64.

The Alfa Romeo Giulietta is reasonably well priced, starting from £17,765, however residual values are not great.

MiTo
The MiTo is a luxury supermini which is essentially a smaller version of the Giulietta. It features the same exterior styling and the trademark front grille. The family car, which is produced as a 3-door hatchback, has been on the market since 2008 after it was unveiled at the British Motor Show of that year. Similarly to the Giulietta it is on offer with an impressive range of engines, several of which emit less than 100g CO2/km making them exempt from road tax.

Passengers in the front will have no complaints in terms of the amount of headroom and legroom, however accessibility to the rear seats is a little awkward and legroom in particular is at a premium. A strong level of equipment is provided as standard, while the interior trim is crafted from high quality materials.